Where have all the flowers gone?
by Vampiress01
Summary: ew. Romance and me don't mix, but there's no kissing (ISHOULD HOPE NOT!) You'll see... please read it...


A/N SKIP THIS A/N... WAIT!!!!! HANG ON! JUST ONE IMPOIRTANT THING! THIS IS BEFORE HARRY GOES TO HOGWARTS, OK? HE'S JUST 9 YEARS OLD? SO THE PART ABOUT SIRIUS BEING A MURDERER... YEAH, I KNOW! SO DON'T TELL ME!  
  
HUH, THE USUAL. BUT ROMANCE? I DUNNO, NEVER WRITTEN ONE OF THOSE BEFORE... WELL, WE SHALL SEE WHAT YOU THINK, STILL, OF COURSE, SUFFICIENTLY DEPRESSING TO BE CLASSIFIED AS VAMPIRESSQUE. ALL RIGHT, I'M DONE BORING YOU NOW, I'LL LET YOU READ. OOOOH, I FORGOT! THIS IS A SONGFIC USING SOME OLD HIPPIE SONG. YAY! SONGFIC! WE LIKE SONGFICS! ^_^  
  
  
Wait! Stop! One more thing, please! Does this bear any resemblance to a certain school musical that drove me to certifiable insanity? Why yes, yes, it does, "I say, Cap'n, buy a flower off a poor girl..."  
Ahhh, the joy of school musicals, how one can love something so much and detest it at the same time is beyond me...anyway, watch My Fair Lady and get a kick out of the beginning of this pretty little ficcy...  
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WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? LONG TIME PASSES.   
  
A man strolled down the city street. Looking left and right before he crossed the main road onto a less traveled one. He sighed. Nowhere to go, no money, no luck. He was tired and hungry and the wind that blew into his face, stinging his eyes and tousling his hair, was bitter cold.  
  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE, LONG TIME AGO.  
  
The streets were nearly deserted. Not only was it cold, but it was that time of evening when rush hour has just ended and everyone is inside enjoying their dinner or having a quiet drink with friends in the local pub. But the man had few friends, he had lost them long ago; not that it was any fault of his own, he told himself.  
  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?   
GONE TO YOUNG GIRLS, EVERY ONE.  
  
"I say Cap'n, buy a flower off a poor girl? Please sir, I'm short for my lodgin'."  
  
He turned around; cold gray eyes met the large brown ones of a young girl. He turned away, ashamed, "I'm sorry, I haven't any change..."  
  
"Please, sir? I can change half a crown."  
  
Her warm innocence melted away the bitterness that had caked around his heart over the years on loneliness. He dug his hand into one pocket of his tattered coat and produced a small amount of Muggle money. "Here you go. Now what sort of flowers are you selling?"  
  
"Well, come have a look, kind sir. I've violets and daises and even a few lilies for Easter, they sell better then, you know..."  
  
The man wasn't really big on flowers, not his, forte, shall we say. "Well, why don't you pick me out some nice ones?"   
  
"Well, sir, I've always been partial to violets. But tell me, what kind would your lady like?"  
  
The man hesitated. He was about to explain to her that he had no lady friend. But then a thought struck him. Not the kind of thought that usually strikes gentleman, especially not when it is bitter cold and it is wiser to stay inside. "I'll take the lilies, then, thank you, miss."  
  
She handed him the flowers, looking taken aback, "Miss? I never been called miss afore, sir. Folks 'round 'ere all just call me Eliza."  
  
"Is that so? In that case, call me Remus, Eliza."  
  
WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN, WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?  
  
The man, Remus, made his way through the winding cobblestone maze, flowers grasped in his hand.  
  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG GIRLS GONE? LONG TIME PASSES.  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG GIRLS GONE, LONG TIME AGO.  
  
His eyes crinkled up as tears welled up inside. Warm, salty drops streamed down his face and splattered on the Easter Lilies, which he now held in a tight grasp. He knew this wasn't a good idea, it was things like this that always upset him so, but he had to see, this would be the last chance that he'd have.  
  
He approached the street he was seeking; across the way lay the old cemetery. He walked swiftly across the road. He head for the far corner, where the ancient mausoleums stood, surrounded by dilapidated tombs of those lost in a long ago battle.  
  
Also where the wizard crypts were hidden.  
  
He entered the largest mausoleum, then proceeded to the rear of the tomb. He withdrew a battered wand and tapped the wall. "Requiem en pacem" he muttered, and the wall swung inward, revealing a narrow flight of stairs.  
  
The wizard crypts, it would be in the front of course, not having died more than ten years ago. He found what he was looking for, a familiar family crest, and beneath it the name, Potter.  
  
He swung open the door, passed over the seal, and entered.  
  
Here was where his Lily lay.  
  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG GIRLS GONE?  
GONE TO YOUNG MEN, EVERY ONE.  
WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN, WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?  
  
Lovely Lily. Now dead, and he would have tried to save her, if only he had known. James had tried to save her, but she had died nobly, protecting her son. James. The name brought a shiver through Remus' body. No longer a shiver of jealousy, a shiver of guilt.  
  
He had, of course, known that James loved Lily. James had loved her almost as long as he had. But James had told everyone, he was not shy like Remus, he wanted to share his love with the world. Remus had too, but he was scared. What if she did not love him in return? Or what if, even worse, she did love him, but then she found out about his secret?  
  
Then she had found out. And she still wanted to be his friends, she berated the others for keeping it from her, but she didn't blame him, she seemed to understand how he felt.  
  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE? LONG TIME PASSES.  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE, LONG TIME AGO.  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE?  
GONE AS SOLDIERS, EVERY ONE.  
WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN, WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?  
  
God, he'd been a fool. She had been James' from the very start, and he should have been quicker to realize it. If only he had told, he might have had a chance.  
  
He remembered the day of their wedding. How he had rejoiced in knowing it was a full moon. "I'm sorry, James, but, it's impossible of course." he had said, but inside he was smiling. If he had come, he knew he would have done something dreadful, to himself or to others.  
  
He knew he shouldn't covet another's wife. It was a commandment, wasn't it? He couldn't remember... but he knew it was wrong. "But how can I help it?" he thought. And still, he worshipped Lily from afar, watching as she grew lovelier each day.   
  
Then, what Remus felt most guilty for, happened. James decided to help in the fight against Voldemort.  
  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE SOLDIERS GONE? LONG TIME PASSES.  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE SOLDIERS GONE, LONG TIME AGO.  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE SOLDIERS GONE?  
GONE TO GRAVEYARDS, EVERY ONE.  
WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN, WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?  
  
Remus banged his head against the stone coffin, ashamed. He couldn't believe that he had wished James would die. And leave Lily. Because his love was strong enough to turn him against his friend.  
  
He couldn't believehis selfishness now, he barely believed it then. He didn't talk to James or Lily for years, he couldn't stand to see them, knowing he was lying to them with every glance he shot their way.  
  
How he'd hated James. How he had hated himself! A far worse monster then he was when the moon was full....  
  
And then they had both died. His problem was solved. Until his world was shattered by the truth, that Sirius had killed them, and then Peter! And their son too if he'd had half the chance! Blast Sirius! But how ironic, that he, too, although for different reasons, had wanted James dead.  
  
And now he knelt before the tomb, begging to be forgiven. He knelt first before the tomb engraved 'James'.  
  
"Please James, forgive me. I didn't mean it. I was blinded, blinded by envy. I didn't mean it! I hated the idea, even then, please... If you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I kneel here, as penetant as I shall ever be. Please, James, please... I want there to be peace between us. If I could turn back time James, I would change it all."  
  
Then he turned on his knee, to Lily, "Oh, Lily, how I love you still, though you are long dead. It is not your fault, any of it, the enmity I felt towards James, it was not caused by you. It was caused by my own foolish, jealous heart. Perhaps I was not blinded by envy, perhaps, it was by love. I promise you and James both one thing though, as it is the least I can do. I swear on my honor that if I ever meet your son, I will show him kindness, and tell him what wonderful people you both were to me..."  
  
Remus lifted himself off the floor, and prepared to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot..." he turned back slowly, and bent down, smoothing the flowers over Lily's grave. Then he turned on his heel and left the place, never to return again.  
  
WHERE HAVE ALL THE GRAVEYARDS GONE?  
GONE TO FLOWERS EVERY ONE.  
WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?  
WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?  
  
@~~~~~~  
  



End file.
